Ricardo Allen

Allen quietly continues to impress as he heads into his fourth season in the league and is set to start at strong safety again for the Falcons. Last season he notched 90 tackles, three passes defensed...

Allen is performing well in OTAs, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports. "Ricardo is playing out of his mind, and he's not going to change that," new defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel said. "I think you're going to see some big plays this year."

Allen started at free safety for the Falcons in 2015, racking up 69 tackles, three interceptions and a sack over the course of 15 games. He's expected to anchor the position again this season, and he should benefit now that he's got a year of Dan Quinn's system under his belt. 70 to 80 tackles and a few interceptions seems like an attainable target for Allen this season.

2015

Allen will contend for the starting free safety role as training camp begins. He'll battle with Charles Godfrey and Kemal Ishmael for that honor, but the winner will certainly have plenty opportunities to put up big defensive numbers in a defense that's hoping to improve on a disastrous 2014 campaign.